Romo: Too many new universities

Ricardo Romo, president of the University of Texas at San Antonio, said he thinks Texas is adding new universities quicker than it can pay for them, the result of pork-hungry lawmakers who give little thought to whether there is actually a need.

“That’s why we get medical schools in areas that don’t need them and law schools in areas that don’t need them,” Romo said.

The comments came this morning at a community conversation put on by the White House’s Hispanic education initiative.

When asked what we as a society are doing WRONG, Romo said there are “too many political players in higher education.” Texas lawmakers approved three new universities this year, yet failed to dole out enough money for the ones they already have, Romo said.

Not sure what the White House is supposed to do about Texas politics. But was that a shot at Texas A&M-San Antonio, which declared its independence this year and became a freestanding university?

Romo has said little publicly about Texas A&M-San Antonio, though many UTSA profs have grumbled about a new university in their backyard. UTSA is struggling as it is, they say, and the prospect of another mouth at the trough of state appropriations is not pleasant.

After the meeting, I tracked Romo down and asked him if his comments referred to A&M-San Antonio.

No, Romo said, his arrows were not aimed at A&M-San Antonio. When it comes to whether there is enough demand to support a new campus, he is taking others’ word for it.

“They (Lawmakers? Educators?) think there is a need,” Romo said. But that doesn’t change the bottom line.

“As a consequence, we have less resources to spend on (existing campuses) that need it,” Romo said.